Archive for September, 2013

Assessing the ad-supported digital-music-streaming landscape is like figuring out which sets to catch at Bonnaroo. From Pandora to Spotify to Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio to Apple’s new iTunes Radio, there are so many options for marketers. Too many.

Even Rdio, known for its clean design and subscription model, is planning to launch a free, ad-supported desktop version of its on-demand streaming service by the end of the year. “We wanted a perpetual free offering. We’ve seen as the market has evolved [that an ad-supported free service] drives virality and an active user base,” said Rdio CEO Drew Larner.

For the latest generation of digital-music services, it’s becoming clear that paid subscriptions won’t cover content-licensing costs. Pandora, for example, expects 80% of its revenue to come from advertising. The internet-radio pioneer and its brethren hope they can divert a swath of local-radio ad dollars their way. But for that to happen, they have to get bigger in local markets and offer mobile ads tailored to local audiences. Kinda like radio.

One company has had the digital table to itself since Nevada legalized online poker for real money this year: Station Casinos, which introduced its Ultimate Poker site in late April to capitalize on the new freedom. The company has been eagerly pressing its advantage, with marketing that includes promotions for the site at Station’s 18 Nevada casinos.

The battle for at-home players will be joined Sunday, when Caesars Interactive Entertainment begins an ad blitz for its World Series of Poker site, or WSOP.com, which had a soft launch on Sept. 19. The campaign by independent shop Zambezi, of Venice, Calif., will include TV, radio, print, digital and out-of-home advertising as well as partnerships with Caesars’ casinos. Ads will emphasize the “whenever, wherever” availability of online play, as well as the unique advantages of playing at home.

In this TV ad below, for example, a man who struggles to conceal his facial expressions (or “tells”) finds relief at home, saying, “Online, I don’t need a poker face.”

Hearst is likely to call its forthcoming Dr. Mehmet Oz magazine “The Good Life,” according to two people familiar with the matter. The title will likely also include the celebrity physician’s name, though it’s unclear precisely how that will be presented.

A Hearst spokeswoman declined to comment.

Hearst, the publisher of Esquire and Cosmopolitan, plans to announce the magazine’s name on Oct. 15 as part of an event it’s calling a magazine upfront, a reference to the TV industry’s annual presentations to ad buyers and negotiations for ad inventory. Two pilot issues of the Dr. Oz venture are due starting early next year, the company has said.

Netflix, the world’s largest subscription-streaming service, wants to attract more customers by adding its web-based movies and shows to U.S. cable systems, Chief Financial Officer David Wells said.

U.S. cable operators have actually had an “open offer” to add Netflix for two years, Mr. Wells said yesterday in an interview at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in New York. And the company is still willing to forge partnerships, he said. The question is whether U.S. pay-TV companies will go along.

“We would love to reduce the friction to the end consumer, and to be available via the existing device in the home, which is the set-top box,” Mr. Wells said from the stage.

Twitter has secured a purveyor of highly sought-after video content as its latest media partner to help sell packages of promoted tweets: the National Football League.

The pact with the NFL is the latest in a string of deals Twitter has done with more than 30 publishers, sports leagues and TV networks since January, and possibly one of the more lucrative ones based on the quantity of NFL fans and advertisers’ zeal to reach them.

Under the program, sponsors including Verizon will be mentioned in promoted tweets sent out from the NFL’s Twitter handle during the regular season and postseason, and given pre-roll placements in the attached videos.

AOL is claiming that its “programmatic upfront” is more than just a party.

Two brands and five agencies have committed to buy AOL’s ad placements like The Huffington Post home page through the portal’s ad tech products, the company said as it through its first upfront for machine-traded ad placements.

The deals, which AOL has secured ahead of time for undisclosed ad spending amounts, will take effect January 1, 2014.